BAM Humanities to Present 'MEDEA & PHAEDRA' Performance, Dialogue

BAM Humanities presents MEDEA & PHAEDRA: Tragedies of Passion, Betrayal, and Revenge -- an evening of performance and dialogue featuring dramatic readings of scenes from Euripides' Medea and Seneca's Phaedra, followed by discussion about the relevance of these myths to contemporary society.

The evening will be led by Theater of War founder Bryan Doerries, using his translation of Medea and a translation of Phaedra by Laura Weber, with performances by Elizabeth Marvel, Amy Ryan, Donnetta Lavinia Grays, and Bill Camp.

Medea and Phaedra -- both of which timelessly explore how scorned passion can lead to revenge and unthinkable violence -- will serve as the gateway to a discussion surrounding mental illness. These plays pose the question as to whether the irreversible actions of the titular characters are driven by mental illness.

From there, Doerries will facilitate a conversation that will address under-discussed mental health issues -- such as post-partum depression and psychosis -- and will extend to recent incidents that seem uncannily similar to the plots of these ancient plays.

IF YOU GO:

MEDEA & PHAEDRA: Tragedies of Passion, Betrayal, and Revenge
Led by Bryan Doerries
With Elizabeth Marvel, Amy Ryan, Donnetta Lavinia Grays, and Bill Camp
Mon, Jun 20 at 7pm
BAM Fisher (Fishman Space), 321 Ashland Pl
Free with RSVP

About the Artists:

Writer, director, and translator Bryan Doerries is the founder of Theater of War, a project that presents readings of ancient Greek plays to military and civilian communities to initiate conversations about the wounds of war. A self-described "evangelist" for classical literature, he uses age-old approaches to help communities heal after suffering and loss. Doerries is the author of The Theater of War: What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today, All That You've Seen Here is God (a volume of his translations), and his graphic novel The Odyssey of Sergeant Jack Brennan.

Elizabeth Marvel plays Heather Dunbar, Solicitor General in the Netflix original series House of Cards. Marvel graduated from The Juilliard School and proceeded to work for the next 20 years in theater, film, and television. Marvel currently plays recurring roles in Fargo, Law and Order: SVU, and Person of Interest. She has won four Obie Awards for some of her off-Broadway work, most notably for the role of Hedda Gabler in Ivo van Hove's 2004 production of the play. She received a Drama Desk nomination for her performance in Fifty Words. Of her numerous Broadway roles, perhaps her most celebrated was that of Brooke Wyeth, which she originated in the off-Broadway production of Other Desert Cities. In film, Marvel has had the good fortune of working with some of the best directors in the business, including two films from the Coen brothers, Spielberg's Lincoln, Tony Gilroy's Bourne Legacy, Roger Michell's Hyde Park on Hudson, J.C. Chandor's A Most Violent Year, and Cameron Crowe's latest project. On television, Marvel was a series regular on the CBS series The District and FX's Lights Out, and she had a recurring role on Showtime's Nurse Jackie. She has guest starred on various series, including 30 Rock, The Good Wife, The Newsroom, White Collar, and Elementary. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her family.

Amy Ryan is perhaps best known for her acclaimed performance in Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone, for which she received Academy Award, Golden Globe, and SAG Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress. She also appeared in Alejandro Gonza?lez In?a?rritu's Academy Award-winning Birdman, for which she received the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in A Motion Picture. Her other film credits include Bridge of Spies, Goosebumps, Louder Than Bombs, Central Intelligence, Monster Trucks, Breathe In, Clear History, Devil's Knot, Win Win, Green Zone, Jack Goes Boating, Changeling, Before the Devil Know's You're Dead, Capote, Dan in Real Life, War of the Worlds, and Keane. Ryan made her Broadway debut in Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig. She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for Uncle Vanya and A Streetcar Named Desire. Ryan also starred in Neil LaBute's The Distance From Here in London's West End, and Lisa D'Amour's critically-acclaimed play Detroit, directed by Anne Kauffman at Playwrights Horizons. Her television work includes her memorable roles as Holly Flax on The Office, Adele on In Treatment, and Officer Beatrice 'Beadie' Russell on The Wire.

Donnetta Lavinia Grays is a Brooklyn-based actor and playwright. Her Broadway acting credits include In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) and Well. Grays has also performed with various New York companies including Playwrights Horizons, The Foundry, Clubbed Thumb, Primary Stages, Ars Nova, and The Civilians as an Associate Artist. Grays is a two-time Connecticut Critics Circle Award recipient and a Helen Hayes Award nominee for her regional theater work. Other regional theater credits include projects at American Conservatory Theater, Portland Stage Company, Westport Country Playhouse, Arena Stage, Hartford TheaterWorks, Baltimore Centerstage, the Huntington Theatre, Barrington Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company. Her film and TV credits include Book of Henry, Wild Canaries, The English Teacher, The Wrestler, Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, all the Law & Orders, Mercy, Rubicon, The Sopranos, and A Gifted Man.

Bill Camp is a New York-based theater, television and film actor. His Broadway credits include The Crucible, Death of a Salesman, Coram Boy, St Joan, and Heartbreak House. Other American theaters he has worked at include ART, Yale Rep, The Guthrie Theater, BAM, Theatre for a New Audience, New York Theatre Workshop, Mark Taper Forum, La Jolla Playhouse, Huntington Theater, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf, Roundabout, The Public Theater (NY), Seattle Rep, St Marks Theater, PS 122, and Baryshnikov Arts Center. Film credits include Jason Bourne, Midnight Special, Loving, Gold, Colin Warner Project, Black Mass, Love and Mercy, Compliance, Birdman, 12 Years a Slave, Lincoln, Lawless, Aloha, and Tamara Drewe. Television credits include The Night of (HBO), The Leftovers (HBO), Manhattan, Boardwalk Empire (HBO), The Good Wife, and Law and Order: Criminal Intent. He is also the voiceover narrator for the EPIX Road to the Winter Classic Series.

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn's only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, offers a dinner menu prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of live music for BAMcafé Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a bar menu available starting at 6pm.

For more information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.

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